Batman ninja

Batman, together with his allies and opponents, finds himself in the era of feudal Japan ^{[7] [8]} . There he is chased by a samurai working for the villain Joker. During his escape, Batman meets with Catwoman , who says that everyone else arrived two years earlier (due to the fact that Batman is in the zone affected by the earthquake). He learns from her that all the main criminals of Gotham City became feudal lords after deceiving Sengoku, fighting with each other until a single state remains. To stop the villains from changing history, Batman and Catwoman must get to the Arkham Castle Earthquake Gear (formerly refuge). Batman discovers that Alfred Pennyworth is also in the past and built the Cave outside Edo. When the Joker’s troops ambush the shelter, Batman makes his way in his Batmobile to Arkham Castle, which turns into a giant robotic fortress. But Batman loses and he is saved by the ninja. He learns that the clan of bats helped his friends upon arrival, and that the clan followed the prophecy that the arrived ninja would restore order on earth. To confront evil, the Dark Knight, "the greatest detective in the world," becomes a secret avenger - a ninja .

A month later, villains from Gotham mobilize their castle robots for battle. Batman leads a clan of bats on the battlefield. Wounded Grodd gives Batman control of his army of monkeys; Robin allows them to unite into one giant samurai monkey to fight the Joker robot. The samurai monkey then combines with a swarm of bats to form a Batgoda. The Joker reveals to Batman that, as farmers, he and Harley planted special flowers that evoked their memories when they bloomed. When the castle falls, Batman and the Joker engage in a sword fight. Using his ninja skills, Batman wins.

In the end, feudal Japan returned to its original state, and the Bat clan brought the villains back in our day.

This is the second anime about Batman from Japanese directors, after " Batman: The Gotham Knight ." Jumpei Mizushaki worked with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure . Kazuki Nakashima was the screenwriter of Gurren-Lagann and Kill la Kill. ^[9] On the other hand, an alternative storyline has already been shown in Batman: Gotham in the Gas Light and the comic strip Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne ^[10] .

The theme of Japan was also previously present in the famous animated series of the 1990s (episodes “Ninja Night” ^[11] and “Samurai Day” ^[12] ). Batman: Arkham Origins tells a different story when Bruce Wayne studied in the mountains of North Korea with master Kirigi, learning the art of Togakure-ryu (戸 隠 流), Shinobi-iri (ри ри 入 り), Taijutsu (体 術), Boryaku (謀略) Seishinteki kyo (精神 的 教養).

According to Nakashima, there are certain stereotypes about Japan - samurai, ninja and transformation. Therefore, they decided to collect everything in one place. Mizusaki said that in the anime there are always giant robots fighting each other, so their presence is obvious. American screenwriters Chu and Garcia noticed that they did not translate the Japanese version, but its adaptation for Western audiences. They did not have in their hands the original plot, and even less the detailed scenario. They only got storyboards. Some scenes are exactly the same, while others simply made no sense. Hence the difference in the dialogs. Significantly helped experience with " Spirited Away " and " My Neighbors Yamada ." In addition, the voices of the Japanese were recorded first, and the voicing of US actors had to be substituted for them ^[13] . However, fans still prefer the Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles ^[14] .

In the anime, there is both the self-irony of the creators, and ridicule of Batman’s villainous cliches and boilerplate actions, as well as banter at viewers who, after previous DC cartoons, are not ready to accept the new. Dozens of references to the most diverse franchises are given: “ Gundam ”, “ Tramp Kenshin ”, “ Back to the Future ”, “ Matrix ”, “JoJo's Bizarre Adventure”. One scene is completely painted with watercolors, in the style of "The Legend of Princess Kaguya " studio "Ghibli" .

On a Rotten Tomatoes review site, the cartoon has a 81% rating based on 16 reviews and an average rating of 6.6 / 10. ^[15]

Prior to the official release, the IGN website editors rated 9.7 / 10, calling the cartoon the new standard for DC animated films ^[16] .

The “ Daily Mirror ” review rated 4 out of 5, and emphasizes that “Batman Ninja” is a beautiful, stunning anime, but the plot leaves much to be desired - it is heterogeneous, intermittent and does not always go easily. A mixture of different times, martial arts and fur. Much can be forgiven if you understand the creators, and even more so when Easter eggs are visible. Batman is worth it, provided that comes with humor and a new approach. This is not about realism, but about fans who need an adaptation ^[17] .

James Hadfield, reviewer of The Japan Times , gave 2 out of 5 stars and came to the conclusion that following the traditions of the films “ Shark Tornado ”, “ Snake Flight ” and “ Sex and the City 2 ”, this is a carefully thought-out stupidity. Batman Ninja answers a question that no one thought to ask: what could be less clear than Afrosamurai? The result is a rather strange cross-cultural hybrid. Everything is very stupid and probably will appeal to viewers under 12 years old. But with all the colors, the anime is full of missed opportunities ^[18] .

“Lyles Movie Files” emphasized: between the waves of monkeys, huge furs and the lack of intelligible characters, the enjoyment of a Batman ninja is highly dependent on the perception of the Dark Knight. For better or worse, this is not like any version of Batman that everyone has seen in Warner Bros. Animation The film is overloaded due to many ideas, in the course of the plot one covers the other. For scoring, you should thank the "regulars" Griffin, Strong, Loventhal and Tataskyora. Hale as a Joker never sounded right. The Batman Ninja could be a fresh look, but too many problems doom him to one look, if you fully adhere to the concept. The result is 5.5 out of 10 points ^[19] .

• en: Batman of Shanghai ^[20]

• Batman Ninja Official Website (Japanese)

• The Batman Ninja anime in the encyclopedia of Anime News Network